I Heart Coldplay

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My love for the music of Coldplay has been spiking over the weeks ever since I heard Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall play on the radio - plus watching the official MV for the song. In fact, I've begun to cram my phone's memory card with as many studio releases of the songs from their upcoming album Mylo Xyloto. (Coming 24th October!) And of course, I've been going down memory lane as well by revisiting their songs from recent albums (Viva La Vida, Prospekt's March) and previous ones. (X&Y, A Rush Of Blood To The Head)

It's great to see Chris Martin and the boys back in action, bringing back their trademark style of music-making that has defined the band's name in alternative pop. Anyway, here's a list of a few hits which still remain the most popular in my heart. (And in my head)

LIFE IN TECHNICOLOR

After watching the video, I can't help but feel awed by the sheer brilliance of Coldplay and its music. The video itself is a cute production, with the band members each played by a puppet and performing in front of a party, while its audience looks on in curiosity. The music - a combination of the sitar and Coldplay's own modern instruments - is absolutely brilliant, easily captivating listeners to its themes of love through adversity. This truly is a very beautiful song.

EVERY TEARDROP IS A WATERFALL

It's very obvious this song would be on this list. The song is pure magical genius, and the video adds extra awesome-ness to it, with a very interesting blend of graffiti and stop-motion techniques. And also the paint. How many buckets did they use to make the video? And imagine all the effort just to make that 4 minute video, since they added the use of stop-motion. (As seen on most cartoons and, rather recently, Clooney's The Fantastic Mr Fox; it involves the use of taking multiple shots of a scene and combining them together to form an animated clip)

VIVA LA VIDA

From what I've translated, Viva La Vida is Spanish for "Long Live Life" and not "Long Live the King" as I had believed it to be. (NOTE: in fact, 'rey' is Spanish for king; so if it were "Long Live the King" the album would be Viva El Rey or something) But in fact, the song IS about the downfall of a king, from riches to rags. An interesting, meaningful song, plus a video that has the band using a violin and a bell among other instruments, and has all of them wearing French Revolution-era clothing. In fact, the French Revolution theme is a central part of the entire album.

PARADISE

Paradise has a very haunting tune that is, at the same time, full of powerful emotions conveyed through Martin's hypnotic voice and the instruments the band used. The video has the band wearing very silly but cute elephant suits that seem to convey a certain whimsical meaning to the entire video. I haven't delved into the meaning of both the video and lyrics yet, but this song has already left a lasting impression on me on what Coldplay is capable of doing. A recommended tune to listen to.

THE HARDEST PART

I'm not too sure of the connection between the song and the MV, but knowing their unorthodox style of making their MVs, it's understandable. This song definitely deserves to be on my list, as it carries Coldplay's trademark upbeat beats and harmony that gets you moving. But then again, it's just my opinion.

STRAWBERRY SWING

I loved this song. In fact, I acquired it after I first heard it in - of all places - Jusco. But after I saw the amazingly choreographed MV, combining art and stop-motion techniques in one of their most artsy love-song videos yet (and featuring a number of strange characters), my appreciation for the song went up tenfold. I strongly recommend that, if you haven't heard it yet, you watch the video first and then get a copy of the song for your MP3 player.

LOST!

I actually thought the title of the song was "Lost?" for a while. But this is a good song, with a string of inspirational kind of lines (Just because I'm losing / Doesn't mean I'm lost among others) and a very soulful tune. Listening to this, I get the feeling Coldplay must have been doing some experimenting with their songs on Viva La Vida and Prospekt's March before they started working on Mylo Xyloto.

CLOCKS

I didn't really care much for the meaning behind the song. It's just Chris Martin playing the piano so marvelously with the help from the drums and bass later, while dispensing four-line verses of what I would call random thoughts. But who cares? It's music, but most importantly it's good music!

TALK

The music video was... interesting. Well, I found it a bit disturbing when I first saw it, but I guess I was young at the time. (Coming to the moon on a ship; talking to a robot there; etc.) I'd say that Coldplay likes to make its videos differently, coming close to something like an art project of sorts - combining great music with unique art. I think it works.

YELLOW

This was the song that launched Coldplay to fame. And, like millions of others, this was the song that introduced me to a group that took me and their fans on a fantastic musical journey right up until now. And yes, its lyrics are stuck in my head.

CHARLIE BROWN


I just realized that it's the sound of chipmunks on fast forward at the start of the track! Anyway, the one reason I love this song isn't just for Chris Martin's amazing vocals, but also for his bandmates' brilliance with their instruments. When the tune started playing, with the beautiful strings-keyboard combination, I knew that this was one song that I would never forget for the rest of my life.

GOD PUT A SMILE UPON YOUR FACE

This is a very haunting song thanks to its lyrics and the initial vibe the band brought as they played. Of course, towards the end of the song, it reached a very climatic high in the tempo before receding with a satisfying resolution. The MV too is pretty disturbing, featuring a man who slowly fades away into thin air.

THE SCIENTIST

This is another all-time favorite, the song that me and Tihn Chern sang for Teacher's Day just this year. Is it because of its lyrics, singing of forgiveness to the girl whose heart the persona broke? Is it because of Chris Martin's melancholic voice that fits the mood? Is it for the brilliantly done MV played in rewind? Or is it because of the very sombre piano instrumental in the background? I don't know. I just know I love this song more than I even love Every Teardrop.

Lastly, a very sincere thank-you is in due to Ban Siong and Tihn Chern, who helped light my passion for Coldplay's awesome music. You guys rock!